The seventh group of participants completed the Continuous Improvement Practitioner course at Stucki headquarters in January. From left: Brea Ehman, Cody Neiser, Larry Perks, Mike Wall, Chris Calhoun, Brennan Moore, Rick Clary, Rafael Consuegra, Cleopatra Turner, Rick Girt, Kyle Kohls and Shawn Payne.
The Continuous Improvement Practitioners (CIP) course moved to Stucki’s headquarters for the first time when the seventh session took place recently in Moon Township, Pa.
Eleven associates from American Industries, American Turbocharger Technologies, Birmingham Rail & Locomotive, Salco Products and Stucki’s human resources office participated in the three-day session.
The group worked as a team through the airplane simulation exercise, during which participants are asked to produce one airplane in 60 seconds, six airplanes in 120 seconds and 25 airplanes in 300 seconds.
The airplanes can have no defects and the team is expected to turn a profit while completing the exercise using continuous improvement tools and concepts.
“Once again, our participants were up to the challenge,” said MIKE WALL, continuous improvement coach with Stucki. “They achieved the second-best operating and financial results of all the classes thus far, tying with their colleagues from the sixth session.
“More important, the class prepared them to lead future improvement events at their respective locations.”
The group gained hands-on experience in Lean concepts and tools such as eliminating waste, one-piece flow, the 5S Process (sort, set in order, shine, standardize, sustain) and many others.
RICK CLARY, vice president of human resources, attended the sessions and said a culture of continuous improvement is critical to the success of any business.
“The bar is constantly being raised, and performance that was good today is often subpar tomorrow,” said Rick. “At Stucki, we all strive to be better every day, and this training gives our employees the knowledge, tools, and resources to be successful now and in the future.”
According to Mike, ROSS BEALL, director of information technology, and BRENNAN MOORE, human resources coordinator, were instrumental in making sure the sessions went smoothly at the home office.
“From rearranging the gym to accommodate our group, to making sure everyone was fed each day, their support contributed greatly to the success of the class,” Mike said.
“We appreciated the hospitality and participation of members of the headquarters team.”
